Expert: Julia Booth - 10/28/2008

Question
QUESTION: I live in Woodland Hills Calif.and yesterday,Sunday, it was 5pm and I heard a strange bird sound and I got my binoculars and searched for the bird. I located it in a tall pine tree at the very apex of the tree. It had a cone shaped bill and a very distinct black area at the top of it chest and the rest of the chest was white. It looked to be a large bird as it flew away.

ANSWER: I'm going to need more information, because your idea of strange and big may not be the same as mine.

1. define "strange" -what did the bird sound like? Please describe. Compare it to something, if necessary.

2. When you say large, do you mean bigger than a crow, hawk-sized, crane-sized?

3. The top of the chest is black and the rest of the chest is white. What about the remainder of the bird?

4. If you had to guess, would you think the bird was a raptor (hawk, eagle, falcon) or perhaps a shore bird (pelican, egret, heron)?

Hopefully with more information I can give you your answer,

Julia

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: We have a red tail hawk family that visits our area every Feb to raise a new family. When I heard this bird, I thought it was one of the hawks returning for old time sake as the sound was somewhat similar. As for the size, it flew away from the tree downward and disappeared behind the tree. While it was perched on the top of the tree, I could only see the head, beak and what looked like a black shield on it's chest. Again, the beak looked like a cone so it wasn't a raptor. Also, from the distance the head, not the beak, looked more like a duck's head. I am not a rabid bird watcher but I do like to watch them and when there is a different bird call, I always try to see what it is and if possible identify it or contact someone like you to see if they can help me identify the new bird. I appreciate any help if possible. Thank you... Gene

Answer
I wish I could help you.

- there are no birds with a "cone" shaped beak that are larger than a Grosbeak. When I say cone, I mean a literal cone -meaning that the diameter of the wide end is equal to the over length. If the length is more than that and/or wider than the bird's head, we generally call it all-purpose or needle-like. Sadly, the right terminology can often make all the difference in getting a positive ID.

Perhaps you mean that it just isn't bent or curved or spatulate. If the bird is larger than 9-10 inches, then that has to be the case.

If the bird has a body 'like a duck' it's unlikely -though not completely impossible- that it would be perching in a tree of that height, because their feet are not designed for perching.

The closest thing that meets your description is a Common Loon, which isn't found anywhere near where you live, because they generally don't come on land.

If you want, you can look at some images and perhaps pick out the ones that are most similar to the bird you saw and we can go from there: http://identify.whatbird.com

In the future, if you have a camera handy, feel free to take even a really lousy picture. I can ID a bird from a lousy picture much better than I can from someone's description. Because your definition of certain terms and mine may differ (big, strange, wide etc)

Sorry I couldn't help you more,

Julia